Reminiscent
by Klutzygirl33
Summary: Spoilers for Berlin and speculation for Revenge. Tony and Ziva's accident brings up bad memories for Gibbs. Tony/Ziva


**I don't own NCIS and never will. No copyright infringement intended.**

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After Gibbs got the phone call and rushed to the hospital, he decided to park himself in front of the emergency room doors so he could get information about his two agents as soon as possible. Vance, McGee, and Ducky had all stopped by at one point but all three of them had left to find out who was responsible for the accident – He was currently in Ducky's morgue, but they didn't have any clues about his identity. And now that Gibbs was sitting and waiting for news, he was left alone to drown in his thoughts. His mind kept circling back to Shannon and Kelly. Gibbs desperately hoping this didn't end the same way because he wasn't sure he – or the team – could keep taking hits like this. He was thankfully interrupted by that dark path when a doctor, the one he remembered to be Tony's, opened the door and stepped out. "How is he, Doc?"

The doctor smiled encouragingly at him. "Hello, Agent Gibbs. Agent DiNozzo needed surgery to fix a broken wrist and some stitches due to various cuts from pieces of glass. He also sustained a concussion, possibly whiplash, and various other minor injuries. He should be fine and will recover. You're welcome to go back into the recovery room if you'd like. I'll have a nurse show you the way."

Gibbs did want to go see Tony, but he was still waiting to hear news about Ziva. "I'll visit in a bit. Still waiting to hear news about his partner."

"Ah, I see. Well I hope she wasn't hurt too badly." The doctor turned around and left, leaving Gibbs to drown in his thoughts (his memories) again. He couldn't stop thinking about the moment he found out his wife and daughter were dead. It kept repeating on a loop in his head. The circumstances of both situations were terrifyingly similar. The horror of the days and months after still haunted him. And he wasn't sure what Tony or Ziva would do without the other if one died. At least it sounded like Tony's injuries weren't major, but Ziva was a different story. The car had hit the passenger side and so it made sense that her injuries were worse. But her doctor hadn't come out and updated him yet, something which was irritating him. He hoped no news wasn't a bad sign.

Abby suddenly appeared at his side and he startled. "Gibbs, how are they? Please don't tell me they're dead." She had had to process both cars and had melted down upon seeing all the blood in Tony's. McGee calmed her down, however, and that's when she insisted he take her to the hospital because she needed to see them for herself.

"Tony just got out of surgery, but he's going to be fine. Haven't heard anything about Ziva yet." He wasn't surprised when Abby let out a sob and hugged him. He patted her on the back and then pried her away after a few minutes.

"I'm scared. What if they go after us again? This was a warning, Gibbs, and I think Ziva needs to stop. Avenging Jackie and Eli's death isn't worth this!"

Gibbs wanted vengeance now himself, but he wasn't about to tell Abby that, especially when she was this hysterical. He didn't blame her, though. "She's not going to stop, and you know that. Ziva needs our help and we'll be there to provide it. This will only make her more determined. You know her."

Whatever Abby was about to say next was interrupted by Ziva's doctor showing up. "Hello, Agent Gibbs. Agent David is out of surgery and in the recovery room. We lost her once on the table, but were able to revive her." Abby clapped a hand over her mouth and tried (unsuccessfully) to hold back a sob. "She broke some ribs, had some internal bleeding, and numerous injuries from glass embedding in her skin. We were able to stop the internal bleeding, but we'll be keeping an eye on her for the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours. Any questions?" After answering multiple inquiries from Gibbs and Abby, Ziva's doctor departed and left them alone.

McGee, Ducky, Palmer, and Vance trickled in at various points during the long night, but Gibbs refused to budge – Abby, too, since she attached herself to his side. His mind whirred over the possibility that Ziva and Tony very well could have died like Shannon and Kelly. How would he have handled such monumental losses a second time? It was hard to say, but he had a feeling it would be bad. Being reminded of Shannon and Kelly's death was not something he wanted to relive, but this night had brought up a lot of memories he had spent years trying to bury. He wasn't sure how he'd be able to tamper them back down and go on pretending like he was fine, that he hadn't been broken all those years ago. But at least he wasn't alone. The entire team was broken in their own way and that's probably one of the main reasons they get along so well.

A nurse stepped into the waiting room around 7:30 in the morning. Everyone was exhausted, but they weren't going to rest anyway until this was solved. "Agent DiNozzo is asking for "Gibbs" and his partner. Since she's still unconscious, I figured I'd get you, Agent Gibbs."

He stood up. "I'll go see him. I'll be back. Why don't you all head on home or to the Navy Yard and get some sleep? I'll call you all with updates." Gibbs knew better than to just suggest they go home – They weren't going to listen to him anyway.

McGee dragged Abby away from the chair and they all left as Gibbs headed to Tony's room. "Boss?"

"Hey, DiNozzo. You doing okay?"

"Drugged. Tired. Ziva?" He needed to know if his partner was dead. He was terrified he had lost her and nobody was telling him.

"She's recovering, just like you are. When she wakes up, I'll let you go see her, okay? Just get some rest because you need it." He squeezed Tony's hand in support when the agent held it out a little.

"Okay." And with that, Tony drifted back to sleep. Gibbs headed to Ziva's room to check on her and held back a gasp of shock when he saw how pale she was. It wasn't surprising considering how much blood she had lost, but he hadn't been prepared for this. Two hours after that, Ziva's eyes opened and she just stared at him.

He wasn't surprised by the first words out of her mouth. "Tony? He was… hurt."

"He's awake and asking about you. Now you've both had a long night, so stop fighting the pain meds, will you, Ziver?" He could clearly see she was trying her best to stay awake and it wasn't working very well.

"Good. Glad… he's doing okay." And then her eyes closed and she fell back asleep.

Neither were really up and about until later that night, nearly twenty-four hours after the accident. Ziva refused to stay in bed and forced Abby to wheel her into Tony's room to make sure for herself that her partner was okay. Aware that something monumental had shifted between the partners, Abby ducked out of the room and tried to figure out a way to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Leave them alone, will ya, Abs? They need this," Gibbs scolded, but his mouth quirked up into a smile as he went to check on them both to see how they were faring. He accidentally ended up overhearing a tremendously important confession between the two.

"You should get back to your own room. You don't look so good," Tony observed of his partner (the love of his life, but he kept that thought to himself).

"I can say the same thing about you."

There was an awkward silence for a moment before Tony spoke again. "So, you were about to say something before. What was it?"

Ziva looked down at her lap and clasped her hands together before looking up. She took a deep breath, immediately regretting that action because of her broken ribs. Once she recovered enough, she began to talk. "Just that I am… am in love with you. I'm just tired of pretending that I am not."

His grin lit up the whole room. "That's what I was hoping you would say. I love you, too, sweet cheeks."

Gibbs decided enough was enough and quietly and quickly backed out of the room to find a tearful but obviously joyful Abby leaning against the wall. "I'm so happy for them," she whispered.

He sighed. "And this is why I told you we should leave them alone. Now let's go get something to eat in the cafeteria and see what McGee's come up with."

"That's fine with me." She followed him back down to the cafeteria and they ate in relative silence.

Gibbs still couldn't stop thinking about Kelly and Shannon and how this accident could have ended the same way, but he was grateful that both Tony and Ziva had survived. The horrors of this night (and the night he lost his wife and daughter) would stick him – and the team – for a long time, but that was nothing new. They'd get through it together, as they always did. And revenge was a top priority now. They would take down Bodnar, but things would never be the same again.


End file.
